Critics of Scientology say its views are too "black and white"
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Germany's federal and state interior ministers have declared the
Church of Scientology unconstitutional, clearing the way for a possible
ban.
The ministers have asked Germany's domestic intelligence
agency to examine whether the Church's legal status as an association
could be challenged.
Scientology is not recognised as a religion in Germany.
A Church of Scientology statement said the ministers were "completely out of step with the rest of the world".
The attempted ban is "a blatant attempt at justifying
the on-going and never-ending discrimination against the Church of
Scientology and its members in Germany," said the Church in a
statement.
Critics accuse the organisation of cult-type practices and exploiting followers for financial gain.
But Scientologists reject this and say that they promote a religion based on the understanding of the human spirit.
Cult-type practices
Since January, when the Church of Scientology opened a
new centre in the German capital, Berlin, Scientologists have come
under intense public scrutiny.
Actor Tom Cruise is a high profile follower of Scientology
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People living near the centre complained that its
members were actively trying to recruit and some politicians called for
the organisation to be banned, accusing it of cult-type practices.
For years, Scientology has been monitored by German
intelligence agencies, who claim the movement's structures and methods
could pose a threat to the rule of law and "democratic order".
But the Church of Scientology insists that 10 years of surveillance "has uncovered absolutely no wrongdoing".
Under the ministers' new plan, the intelligence services
have been asked to draw up a report on Scientology, and ministers will
then have to clarify whether there is a legal basis for a ban.
But the BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin says given the
lobbying power of Germany's 6,000 Scientologists, who say they have a
right to freedom of religion, it will be difficult to introduce a ban.
Scientology was founded in the United States in the 1950s by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard.
In October, a Spanish court ruled that the Church of
Scientology of Spain should be re-entered into the country's register
of officially recognised religions.
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They should ban scientology, it's dangerous, especially for all the manipulable people in North and East Germany.